We talked to several popular Seattle food wizards – who also happen to be parents – to find out what their children love to eat as the cold and gray of winter lingers over the city.
Sharon Fillingim, who has put the restaurant Grub on the must-go Seattle menu, shared her hearty noodle soup, which was her 10-year-old daughter Jennifer’s favorite when they lived in Italy. Fillingim’s Stellina Soup is both filling and fun. Whenever it’s served, Jennifer competes with herself to see how many noodle stars she can get into her soup spoon.
“It’s a great soup for kids and getting vegetables in their bellies,” Fillingim says.
Chef Rajah Gargour, proprietor of the highly regarded Middle Eastern restaurant Café Munir, said he has a favorite food game he plays with his children: 13-year-old Munir (the restaurant’s namesake) and 7-year-old Josephine. Munir and Josephine Rose like to guess which vegetables Gargour has added to his famous “mystery meatloaf.”
He didn’t include a recipe for mystery meatloaf because Garjour just purees whatever vegetables he has on hand in his home kitchen and adds ground meat before baking it into a loaf. Whichever child guesses the highest number of ingredients wins. Gargour says he wins too, because kids are eagerly downing vegetables.
“They eat everything, it’s all in there, but if it’s on the side they wouldn’t have it,” he says.
Whenever Mary Yglesia, Seattle’s Child’s “One Pot Wonder” columnist and mother of three (whose clan includes vegetarian and gluten-free members), wants to entice everyone to the winter table, she makes Tortilla Soup. Not only does it speak to her family’s heritage, its “choose your own additions” make it easy accommodate everyone.
“Tortilla soup is one of those dishes that offers something for everyone and gives my kids a lot of choice,” says Ygleisa. “It’s cheap, it’s easy, it’s filling, it’s colorful and on a cold winter night, it brings a warm feeling to the heart and table.”
For an easy kid-pleasing snack or addition to a meal, Chef Steven Ariel of Trace likes roasted edamame.
“It’s a great finger food snack that just so happens to be nutritious, too,” says. “They are delicious hot or at room temperature.”
Cookbook author and chef Ethan Stowell, whose restaurant empire includes nine of Seattle’s most frequented eateries, looks to pasta when he wants to entice his 16-month-old son. Adrian adores pasta with red sauce – both eating it and smearing it all over his face. Stowell’s simple sauce promises to taste and look good on any toddler, or any tomato lover for that matter.
Do you have a gluten-free member of the family? Chef Jamie Eppenauer, author of the popular blog, www.glutenfreemom.com, has you covered with a tasty, easy, filling winter comfort favorite: Sloppy Joes!
“What kid does not like Sloppy Joes?” Eppenauer says. “I like making them from scratch because I am in control of all of the ingredients, so I know that it is organic if I use organic meat, natural, no preservatives, etc. And it is so easy!”
Stellina Soup
Chef Sharon Fillingim
(Serves 4)
½ pound chicken with bone and skin
3 carrots, chopped
1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
8 ounces star-shaped pasta, such as Barilla Stellina (alphabet pasta makes a great kid-friendly substitute if you can’t find star pasta)
Salt and pepper
¼ cup parsley, chopped (optional)
In a stock pot, place chicken, carrots, garlic, onion and celery; cover with water. Boil for 30 to 40 minutes, then remove chicken from pot. Allow chicken to cool and remove skin and bones, then chop chicken into bite-size pieces. Add chicken back to soup, add parsley, pasta, salt and pepper. Allow to simmer until noodles are cooked. You may need to add water to keep soup soupy after pasta has cooked. Optional: Add bits of ham to increase the heartiness of the soup. Serve with thick slices of Como bread.
Rigatoni with Tomato Sauce and Parmigiano–Reggiano
Chef Ethan Stowell
(Serves 4)
Basic Tomato Sauce
(Makes 6 to 7 cups)
2 (28-ounce) cans whole, peeled San Marzano tomatoes
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, sliced
8 to 10 fresh basil leaves, depending on size
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Put the tomatoes in a deep bowl and crush them with your fingers. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and sauté the onions and garlic until tender but not browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the tomatoes and basil leaves. Cook over medium-low heat for 30 to 40 minutes. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
Use an immersion blender or pulse in a food processor to create a rough purée with some texture. The sauce keeps, covered, in the fridge for up to three days and freezes well.
Create the Pasta Dish
Basic Tomato Sauce
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pound rigatoni pasta
Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
In a sauté pan over medium-low heat, bring the tomato sauce to a simmer. At the same time, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions, or until just al dente. When the pasta is ready, drain and pour into the pan with the sauce. Season with salt and pepper and toss. Garnish to taste with Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Easy Tortilla Soup
Mary Yglesia
(Serves 3-4)
1 box or 32 ounces vegetable (or chicken) stock
1 can black beans
1 cup frozen corn
1 tub pico de gallo or other salsa
1 cup tortilla chips (crumbled)
Combine all the ingredients and simmer for about 20 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. That’s it!
Put out bowls of cheddar or Monterey cheese, nondairy cheese, real or alternative sour cream, chunks of avocado, more chips, cilantro, hot sauce, veggie chorizo or other vegetarian protein or shredded chicken, and let your family choose their own soup toppers according to diet needs and tastes.
Sloppy Joes (Gluten-Free)
Jamie Eppenauer
(Serves 4)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ cup onion, finely chopped
1 carrot
1/3 cup red pepper, trimmed, deseeded and finely chopped
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 ¼ pounds organic ground beef
2 tablespoons gluten free Worcestershire sauce
2 cups tomato sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons mustard
Tiny pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oil over medium-low heat in a large sauté pan. Add the onion and carrot and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the peppers and cook for 5 minutes more. Stir in the garlic and marjoram, and continue to cook for 2 more minutes. Transfer vegetables to a bowl with a slotted spoon and reserve.
Add the meat to the pan and 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce. Increase the heat to medium and cook the meat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until it just loses its color (about 5 minutes). Pour excess fat from the pan and discard.
Combine the meat and vegetables in the pan along with the tomato sauce, tomato paste, brown sugar, mustard, a tiny pinch of cayenne pepper and 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce. Bring the mixture to a simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes. (If the mixture appears to be too dry, add water.) Season with the salt and pepper to taste. When ready, divide the mixture evenly between gluten-free buns and serve.
Stir Fried Edamame
Chef Steven Ariel
(Serves 1)
Stir Fry Sauce
Yields: 1 1/2 cups
1 cup oyster sauce
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Mix all ingredients together well, and reserve for later use.
Edamame
8 oz. frozen edamame
1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced
2 tablespoons stir fry sauce (see recipe above)
2 tablespoons scallions, sliced
1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds, white, toasted
Boil frozen edamame for about 3 minutes. Strain off liquid, then add to hot sauté pan containing a small amount of salad oil. Quickly stir-fry for 1 minute, and then add minced garlic. Sauté garlic until golden brown and slightly nutty (approximately 1-2 minutes). Add stir fry sauce and continue to sauté for an additional minute, seasoning with salt if needed. Garnish with scallions and seeds.
Optional: Add hot chilies to taste, if your family likes spicy foods.
Tip: Uwajimaya is an excellent local source for hard-to-find Asian ingredients.
Photo credits: Jennifer Fillingim chows down on her mother’s Stellina Soup; photo by Thor Radford. Mary Yglesia’s Tortilla Soup photo by Cheryl Murfin.
